Waseca hockey team wears 'Matson' jerseys to honor injured officer
These "Matson" Waseca Police jerseys were worn by the Waseca Blue Jays hockey team in warmups Monday night.
WASECA, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Waseca Blue Jays Boys Hockey Team will wear special Waseca Police jerseys with Officer Arik Matson’s Monday night to honor the officer who was shot in the line of duty Jan. 6.
The Waseca Hockey Team tweeted a photo of the jerseys Monday afternoon, previewing the sweaters that will be worn during warmups before the team takes on Winona in Waseca.
Warmups begin at 5:30 p.m. and the puck drops at 6 p.m.
Matson was shot just before 8 p.m. Jan. 6 on the 900 block of Fourth Avenue South in Waseca. He responded to a report of a suspicious person with a flashlight in the backyard.
When officers arrived, they located the suspect, now identified as 37-year-old Tyler Janowsky, at a neighboring property on the 900 block of Third Avenue Southeast. At one point during the incident, Officer Arik Matson was shot in the head and gravely injured. Police officers then shot Janowsky.
According to Matson's pastor at Hope Church, the officer is sometimes able to breathe on his own. As of last week, Matson is still in critical but stable condition. He said the bullet entered Matson's head near his hairline and went out the back right side.
"He is improving but has a long ways to go," the pastor said.
The jerseys worn Monday night were just the latest in the Waseca community rallying around the injured officer.